Lying in bed, slowing his breath, Zhang Yuanqing repeatedly recalled his father's appearance in his mind. Unlike before, now he could quickly focus his spirit, enabling it to operate at high speed—like a top-tier sports car that can reach full speed within just a few seconds. Soon, white noise filled his ears, and a series of chaotic scenes flashed by like slides. Zhang Yuanqing clutched his head in pain, his temples pulsing with veins, his pores rapidly releasing cold sweat. Suddenly, both the white noise and the chaotic images vanished, leaving the world completely silent. In his mind, a scene from the barbecue dinner unfolded frame by frame: Song Man's evident longing, the warm closeness in the牡丹仙子's smile, Xue Hou Ao Tian's frustration as he tried to draw attention but remained unnoticed, and Yuan Ting's discomfort as he sat tense and uneasy. Every expression and gesture of everyone was clearly vivid in his mind—Zhang Yuanqing had always been attentive to the students during the barbecue dinner, yet he had only briefly glanced at them, leaving no trace of his attention. During the prolonged "retracing" process, Zhang Yuanqing identified eight suspicious individuals whose attention to the Qiao-ren Lake had been far more consistent and frequent than that of others. They were: Zhu Mingxu, Xianchan King, San Yang Kai Lady, Xie Lingzhou, Tianxia Guihuo, Kui Yangze, Yuan Ting, and Xiahou Aotian. "Phew..." Zhang Yuanqing finally ended his retracing, exhaling heavily. Suddenly, he felt warmth in his nasal passages. He reached out and wiped it—only to find his palms stained with deep, crimson blood. "Compared to before, my spiritual body has grown immensely stronger. Yet why haven't my headaches improved? They remain just as painful, and I still bleed from my nose—only now, my spiritual body can recover on its own without relying on medicine." "The retracing ability itself is also strange. My retracing ability stems from part of the Palace Master's soul. Such a crucial point—why didn't I ask about it that night? That doesn't make sense..." He didn't dwell on it further, for now wasn't the time to focus on his headaches. "Yuan Ting and Xia Hou Ao Tian can be ruled out. One is simply staring into the merfolk lake, the other is deliberately aloof to draw attention. Among the remaining six, I'm most familiar with Tian Xia Gui—he noticed something special about the merfolk lake yesterday and showed genuine curiosity. It's rare for him to come this close to the lake, so it's quite normal that he pays attention. If he's one of the armored people, I'd be happy to chat with him." As for the other five, Zhang Yuanqing wasn't particularly familiar with any of them. In terms of suspicion, Zhu Mingxu and Xie Lingzhou, both from elite spiritual realms, stand out the most. "Of course, the armored people might not necessarily be among them—let's keep a close eye on them." Zhang Yuanqing sat up and went to the bathroom to wipe the blood from his palms and nasal passages. When he returned to his room and sat upright at the desk, with both hands resting on his knees, Yin Yao, the silver yao princess, transmitted a mental signal: "Your spiritual body is compromised. You should find your master to have it examined." "I know. My spiritual body has broken before and was Lady Yin Yao would surely be frowning right now—her brows were tightly furrowed as she slowly said, “What kind of magic is this… ah, what kind of profession is it?” She adjusted her wording. “A musician,” Zhang Yuanqing replied. “Wait—did you not know? In your time, were musicians entirely extinct?” Lady Yin Yao thought for a moment and said, “You mean those renowned performers at the Imperial Music Bureau and the teahouses?” “Ah, were musicians in ancient times equivalent to the top-tier courtesans? Indeed, they were quite skilled at captivating men,” Zhang Yuanqing remarked, naturally intrigued by the mention of the Imperial Music Bureau and the teahouses. “Not exactly about captivating men. In my time, the number of saints was scarce, nearly vanishing—those of us trained in prestigious lineages were truly few. Though these musicians were practitioners, their abilities were modest, lacking in combat prowess; they could only achieve wealth and status through their music.” Lady Yin Yao explained. Zhang Yuanqing recalled the abilities of musicians in the Transcendent Realm and nodded in agreement. “That makes perfect sense.” Alas, there are no musicians at the teahouse now. Otherwise, listening to music every day in the pavilion would be truly delightful. The next day, he left behind the drumming bronze hammer, the yin-yang robe, the mask ring, the beast king bracelet, the sliding cleat shoes, the wind-quick gloves, the later-earth boots, and the high-heaven origin jade plate, placing them carefully into the cloth bundle that came with the room, and formally presented them to Lady Yin Yao. These are half my assets. I hope the years behind the stone gate remain peaceful and uneventful. If not, then I shall have to go to the terrace... Zhang Yuanqing murmured to himself.